Italian death metallers HOUR OF PENANCE have finished writing material for their new album, entitled "The Vile Conception", due this fall through Unique Leader Records. The band will enter 16th Cellar Studio in Rome on July 10 with producer Stefano Saul Morabito to record 10 new songs of "insanely fast and twisted death metal," according ...

SYMPHONY X webmaster has posted the following message on the band's MySpace page: "First, a statement from the band's management regarding the bonus DVD: "World Management would like to clear up any misinformation about the attached 'free bonus DVD' that is shrink wrapped to the new SYMPHONY X CD 'Paradise Lost'. The free fan bonus ...

Acclaimed heavy metal drummer Richard Christy (ex-ICED EARTH, DEATH, LEASH LAW, CONTROL DENIED), who currently works for "The Howard Stern Show", will host Hixonfest 2007 on Saturday, July 28 at the Pennant East in Bellmawr, New Jersey. This yearly event is put together by THE HIXON to showcase some of the best metal bands in ...

Italian label Punishment 18 has announced the signing of up-and-coming U.K. thrashers PITIFUL REIGN. The band will enter the studio in fall/winter 2007 to record the new album for an early 2008 release. Label spokesperson Marita Mirabella said, "I first saw PITIFUL REIGN at the ANNIHILATOR fan party at Christmas 2005. Even though Punishment 18 ...

Low-quality, fan-filmed video footage of METALLICA performing a new track, tentatively dubbed "The Other New Song", during their appearance Friday night (June 29) at the Bilbao BBK Live festival in in Bilbao, Spain has been posted at YouTube. METALLICA previously played the same track live on August 15, 2006 at Seoul Olympic Main ...

According to Poland's Gazeta.pl, Polish production company Metal Mind Productions has been fined for organizing the controversial 2004 performance in Krakow by the Norwegian black metallers GORGOROTH. [Check out photos from the gig at this location.] Metal Mind owner Tomasz Dziubinski has been ordered to pay 10,000 zloty (approximately 2,500 euros) ...

GAIA EPICUS mainman Thomas C. Hansen will release his debut solo album, "Like a Shadows", on October 12 via Epicus Records. According to a press release, the CD contains 11 tracks, eight of which are instrumentals. All instruments on the album are played by Thomas except a few small guest parts with trumpets, flute and ...

EMIGRATE, the side project of RAMMSTEIN guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe, will be IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson's guests on Friday, July 27 during Bruce's weekly BBC 6 Music radio show, aptly named "The Bruce Dickinson Friday Rock Show". Listen to the program live via the Internet between 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. U.K. time at ...

Reuters reports that portraits of VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash and Jimi Hendrix are among the paintings by THE ROLLING STONES guitarist Ron Wood which are on display through June at the Bailly Contemporain gallery opposite the Louvre museum in the heart of Paris while the STONES tour Europe for the last ...

According to News.bg, 8,000 people attended MOTÖRHEAD's concert on Friday (June 29), the second day of the Kaliakra Rock Fest in Kavarna, Bulgaria. MOTÖRHEAD kicked off the show with "Dr. Rock" and "I Got Mine" from "Another Perfect Day", before performing several songs from "Inferno" and "Sacrifice", and climaxing with "Killed By Death" ...